This is Why You Can’t Take Me to a Tattoo Parlor

Anna-Laura has been begging, B-E-G-G-I-N-G, to get her ears pierced for about a year. I kept telling her, “When you’re 10!”

She turned ten, 12 months ago.

I am oh-so-prompt on my delivery of such promises.

It was time to finally relent come spring break. I was feeling pretty good about myself and my timing. Anna-Laura tends to be a little trepidatious when it comes to new things and experiences. But, after walking her through what would happen, having her meet the tattoo artist/piercer who would be piercing her ears she was 100% ready.

Really, I couldn’t have been prouder of her. She overcame a huge fear and only winced, never cried (or fainted) when those needles went through her ears, one at a time. Keep in mind, this is the kid who fainted at the hospital in front a neurosurgeon AND when Gianna had her first well-check.

But just like that, she went from this…

To this…

Less than a week later we found ourselves at our first soccer game. Telephoto lens? Check. Huge bottles of water? Check. Rearranged 8,000 events so we could arrive, on time, as a family of eight? Barely check, but CHECK.

Then the ref comes over and says she can’t play. The earrings, he says, have to come out.

For the sweet love of Jesus, how did I miss that? Contact sport, Kathryn.

We tried every angle we could. They had flat backs! We could put tape or band-aids over them! I can donate a kidney, really! No dice. It came down to two options. Take them out and re-pierce them or wait about 4-6 weeks until they were healed enough to take them out for a game. I probably will look back on this someday and laugh at the injustice of it all, but boy did it stink. I mean, in the realm of all that crap that can happen in your life, this doesn’t even register. But, when you’re 10 and just want to play your favorite sport, it really stings. And, I felt like it was 100% my fault.

Mom guilt. It never disappoints.

We weathered the next month with some tears, but also some added resilience and some great support from her teammates and coaches. We ultimately left the choice up to her. She chose to keep the earrings in and when they were fully established I pulled them out so she could play in her final games, along with the end-of-season tournament.

When Anna-Laura said, “We sure did learn some hard lessons this spring, Mom,” she spoke the truth. But, I think I learned the bigger lesson. My daughter is more resilient and flexible than I am. And…

don’t ever take me to a tattoo parlor.